Best tasting meaty (not stringy) sweet (not candy-like) squash?

[Anthony_Toronto]

I love butternut. I don't like acorn because I find it too stringy and I don't love the flavour. Thinking of trying two or three (or four?) others in the garden this year.

So far in addition to butternut and possibly spaghetti I was thinking of getting seeds for:

Ambercup squash
Delicata squash
Striata d' Italia

Any other sugestions, or any comments on these choices?

[Doug9345]

I love butternut and what seems like a good number two is a hubbard.

[Fred Hempel]

Butternut Rugosa

[Hermitian]

Hubbard is my favorite.

[guruofgardens]

Butternut - buttercup - hubbard, both green and golden.

[FarmerShawn]

Delicata is our favorite, especially since it's now just the two of us, and one squash serves us nicely. (slice in half lengthwise, scoop out seeds,plop in a pat of butter and a big teaspoon of maple syrup, microwave until tender, and serve. Quick and easy, and real tasty.)

Sunshine and Buttercup come in second and third for us. Spaghetti squash? Yuck! And talk about stringy - that's its definition!

[jmsieglaff]

Buttercup is an absolute favorite. SVB likes it too. Butternut is second favorite--and SVB resistant. I stopped growing winter squash though because I've found we can get high quality winter squash for cheap from the various farmer's markets and roadside stands.

[Anthony_Toronto]

Originally Posted by jmsieglaff

Buttercup is an absolute favorite. SVB likes it too. Butternut is second favorite--and SVB resistant. I stopped growing winter squash though because I've found we can get high quality winter squash for cheap from the various farmer's markets and roadside stands.

Yup, I've found the same thing with some veggies here...but not sure all are available so I'm going to try growing some new ones and see how they do and then check out the veggie stands so I'll know what not to grow next year. Butternuts here are usually $1.50-$1.75 a pound, and two years back I got about 60 squash, many of which were in the range of 5 pounds or more, and they stored extremely well that season, with some of them lasting as long as a year, and since the seedlings cost me about $4 for 8 of them (6 planted) and I didn't really to anything to maintain them I think they were worth it, but we will see how cheap the markets have them compared to grocery stores, once its harvesting time. The only thing in my garden that really takes much effort is the darn tomatoes, pretty much the only thing I know I can't get at any of the veggie stands (at least not the varities that I grow, and the ones that are for sale cost an arm and a leg). Maybe I should dump my savoy cabbage and eggplants though.

[Hermitian]

Originally Posted by jmsieglaff

Buttercup is an absolute favorite. SVB likes it too. Butternut is second favorite--and SVB resistant. I stopped growing winter squash though because I've found we can get high quality winter squash for cheap from the various farmer's markets and roadside stands.

Cucurbits -- due to the larger leaf size, have less total light requirement than other fruits; e.g., tomatoes. Growing them indoors has become a big agricultural business. There are also hydroponic methods available for growing them inorganically or with USDA NOP certification.

[barbamWY]

Australian Butter is a wonderful heirloom.

[Father'sDaughter]

I also like butternut, but not acorn and this year I'm trying Bush Delicata, possibly Red Kuri, and I think I purchased seeds for a hybrid variety called Winter Sweet. Last year I tried Rugosa but planted late and only managed to get one squash, which was excellent. My problem is that I don't have room for squash until after the garlic is harvested, so I'm hoping to find varieties that have a fighting chance of producing before the cold weather does them in. The Bush Delicata is actually getting planted "on time" in a container.

Striata d'Italia is a zucchini variety, not a winter squash. It's the only zucchini I grow because it's fairly productive and the plants tend to stay compact.

[Longlake]

Blue Hubbard is a favorite here, with great taste and stellar storage properties…Good thing, too, as they’re huge (15+ lbs). Green Hubbard is also good, a bit smaller most years, and they don’t seem to keep quite as well. Sweet Meat is another good one for a similar taste and great storage.

[Anthony_Toronto]

Hmmm those green hubbards sound huge and hard to open...both sound like fun! Might have to add to the list.

Noted on Striata d'Italia F'sD, sorry for the confusion! Just spoke to my neigbour today about my search for a trailing zucchini (another thread of mine), he might have some sort of seeds this year but who knows that they will turn into. He thinks they will be those really long zucchini, but that definitely isnt the variety that he had 4 years back.

[Doug9345]

Originally Posted by Anthony_Toronto

Hmmm those green hubbards sound huge and hard to open...both sound like fun! Might have to add to the list.

They're not if you have an axe or heavy duty cleaver.

[Worth1]

Originally Posted by Doug9345

They're not if you have an axe or heavy duty cleaver.

Or a Cane machete.

Worth